DC Superior Court Judge Todd Edelman rescheduled a fatal arson defendant’s trial to determine if, given his state of mind, he can be held criminally responsible for the crime in a hearing on April 8.
D’Aundrey Scott, 31, is charged with first-degree murder and arson for his alleged involvement in fatally burning 62-year-old Darryl Finney on the 900 block of H Street, NE, on May 13, 202t0. Scott is additionally charged with assault with intent to kill and another arson charge for his alleged involvement in the non-fatal burning of another victim on the 1300 block of H Street, NE on the same day.
During the hearing, Scott’s attorney, Jesse Winograd, requested vacating Scott’s trial because the DC Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) requested a 60-day extension for Scott’s criminal responsibility exam, a forensic psychological assessment determining a defendant’s mental state at the time of the crime.
“I don’t know what the DBH will say,” Winograd said regarding DBH’s report of Scott’s mental state during the incident. He added since the trial is scheduled for June, “I don’t think we can properly prepare” for a different defense than not guilty by reason of insanity (NGRI) defense without having the report from DBH.
“What I’m getting from this is you don’t know,” Judge Edelman said. “You had six years to prepare.”
Winograd said, “I have been attempting” to resolve this case in other ways, noting he will need more time to put together an entirely different defense regarding DBH’s report.
“We are trying to get to trial expeditiously,” however, “it wouldn’t be prudent to go to trial” given the lack of information, said the prosecution. According to the prosecution, this case has been open since 2020 but Scott’s competency has changed multiple times. They reiterated the importance of having the DBH’s report.
As a result, Judge Edelman decided to replace his June trial date with another status hearing to give the parties time to receive the DBH’s criminal responsibility exam. Judge Edelman rescheduled Scott’s trial for May 18, 2027.
Parties are slated to reconvene on June 22.
